He was feeling good. He was feelingalive.
He came upon the mattress. It was leaning against the wall, so he wouldn't have to lift it up again.
"Woo-hoo!" he cheered again.
He pulled it off of the last few steps and repositioned it to head down the hallway, toward the basement stairs.
"Almost there," he said. He started to push again.
John was out of breath by the time he reached the basement staircase. He needed to take a rest. He leaned against the mattress and rested his head against it. He could hear his breathing. He could feel his heartbeat.
He stood up straight and looked at the mattress.Just a little more to go. He had already come so far!
He opened the basement door and pushed the mattress through it. It slid over the top stair and teetered for a little bit. Then he pushed it one last time.
It dropped. John watched it go.
The mattress banged on the steps, thudding as it went, and came to a stop at the bottom. No crash this time. Nothing to bang into.
He had done it. He had gotten the mattress down stairs!
John looked down at the mattress. It was lying against the basement wall, waiting for him.
But there were no blankets, no sheets, no pillows. It was bare, white, unappealing.
"Damn," John swore. He'd have to walk back upstairs to get the things he had left behind. "Damn, damn, damn."
*
John got everything and made his way to the basement. He looked over at his wife. She was still sitting in her chair. She hadn't even noticed the mattress come bounding down the stairs.
He was going to call out to her, then thought better of it. She wasn't going to respond. He knew that. He simply needed to get the mattress set up.
He moved it into place in the far corner. Away from the broken window. Away from the dead body staring in at them.
Next, he put on the sheets. He really did hate doing this. The sheets never seemed to straighten out for him.
He sighed.This was for his wife. She liked it this way. Liked them looking perfect.
"Okay, Alice." He wasn't speaking to her. He was talking to himself. Knowing that he had to make things right for her.
John stretched out the sheets. He tried to flatten them down and make them look nice. After a while, they didn't look too bad. At least that's what he told himself. He even went so far as to tuck the sheets underneath the mattress. His fingers scraped against the cement floor as he did.
All for his wife.
When he finished, he walked over to Alice and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Alice," he said. "I've got a bed for you. I think you should like down on it." He didn't wait for her to reply, which he knew she wouldn't do anyway. He simply put his hand underneath her arm and directed her up. She followed. "Just over here."
He led his wife to the bed. He pulled back the sheets and lowered her onto the mattress. He placed her head on one of the pillows. "There you go." He pulled the sheets over her.
Within minutes, his wife was asleep. He looked down at her and smiled. He ran his hand along the top of her head. She looked peaceful on the bed. He hoped that she was peaceful in sleep too.
And when she awoke, who knew, maybe she'd be better. He had to hope for that as well.
Chapter 4
Scooter opened his eyes. He had been sleeping. He looked around and could see light shining in through the cracks in the hangar door. He knew that it was going to be a beautiful day.
He looked down. Julie was nestled in his arms. Emily in hers.
The little girl was still covered in blood. Her clothes now dry with it. Her hair a mess. After all he had gone through to get her something to wear, he had left the clothes in the cart. The woman outside had caused him to forget.
The attack. The axe that he had put in her head.
He looked at his own hands. They were still covered in blood. But, as with the little girl, the blood had dried on him as well.
He pulled himself away from Julie. He saw his hand prints on her shirt. Stained red.
Had she really been in his arms?
He couldn't remember how they had gotten into that position. It seemed so unlikely for him to just reach out and hold her. Yet there they had been.
They had been scared. And probably cold. It made some sense.
Julie moved when he did. Slowly, she came out of her sleep.
When she craned her neck to look up at Scooter, he noticed splats of blood on her face. He didn't know how they had gotten there. She hadn't been involved in the fight. He supposed that it could have been anything. It could have come from the little girl. Or even himself.
She smiled up at him. It was a strange sight for him to see. Out of all that had happened, Scooter didn't understand asmile. There was nothing to be happy about. Nothing to feel good about. Maybe Julie was just happy to be alive.
He tried to smile back at her, but it seemed fake. Forced. Hewas happy to have made it through the night. He simply couldn't smile about it.
"I'm going to get up," he said, his voice a whisper. He didn't want to wake the little girl. "I want to see outside."
Julie nodded her head.
He pushed himself up off of the ground. His knees brushed against Julie's back.
His body was sore. His legs felt weak. His arms pained him. But he didn't bother with stretching them out. He could do it later. Right now, he had to look outside.
Scooter walked to the small side door. Sunlight shone in through the cracks around it as well.
He turned back to Julie. He could see her watching him. She had leaned back against the wall, her arms remained wrapped around Emily. He nodded his head. She smiled again.
He turned to the door. Then paused. He needed to be ready. Especially if one of those things were back there. He needed his axe.
He looked around for it. It was beside Julie.
He thought about going back for it, but changed his mind. He'd only open the door a little. If something was out there, he'd lock the door again and run to get it. He thought that that was safe enough.
He turned back to the door.
He placed his fingers on the lock and pulled it free. The sound clanked loudly within the hangar. Scooter hoped that it hadn't awoken the little girl, but he didn't have a lot of time to worry about it. He needed to stay calm and focused. He had to be prepared if one of thosethings was out there.
He pulled the door open. It creaked louder than the lock. Once more, he chose not to worry about it.
The door opened. The light shone through.
It was bright and Scooter had to wince his eyes. He kept them squeezed, almost shut. But he listened, sure that if one of thosethings came after him he'd at least hear it.
He waited. His eyes began to adjust. Nothing had attacked him.
He looked out of the door and could see the woman lying there, her face split down the middle. There was a bright pool of blood underneath her. It hadn't completely dried and sparkled in the morning sunshine.
Scooter peeled his eyes away from the sight and looked around. There was nothing moving out here. None of the creatures. No survivors. Nothing.
But he had been right:it was a beautiful day.
Scooter took a few steps outside, then looked back at the hanger. A lot of things were going through his mind.Julie, Emily, the creatures, his family, his co-workers, himself. He couldn't let himself think about them all. He needed to focus.
Julie, Emily and himself,that's what was most important. He had to get them all food and water. He had to get them to safety. He could worry about everything else after.If there was an after.
He walked back to the the door, trying not to look at the dead woman as he went. It was hard. He couldn't help but take a glimpse of her...ofit.
No, he couldn't spend time thinking about it. What's done is done. He had to focus on the present.
He walked back to the hangar and looked inside. He could see Julie still sitting there, her eyes
wide open. He placed his hands on the door frame and leaned forward.
"I think it's safe," he said.
"Really? Are you sure?"
Scooter shook his head. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "But I think it's okay."
As he spoke, he saw the little girl move. She hadn't opened her eyes, but he knew that she would soon. Of course, then she'd ask about her father…
Don't worry about that,he told himself. One thing at a time.
"We should get going," he said.
"Where?"
Scooter didn't know. He only knew that they couldn't stay here. That was the first step. They needed to leave. "I don't know. I've been thinking about it, but I really don't have any idea."
Julie nodded her head. "Okay," she said.
The little girl moved again. This time she opened her eyes. Slowly. Once she could see, she looked at Scooter. Straight at him.
"Good morning, Emily," he said.
He thought that she might not know where she was. That she probably wouldn't remember what had happened. But she smiled. And that smile brought some happiness to Scooter.
He walked back into the hangar.
He still didn't know what they were going to do or where they were going to go, but that didn't seem to matter. For the moment, they were safe.
"What about the clothes?" Julie asked. "Did you find any?"
The clothes! "Yeah," he said. "Just wait a minute." He came back with the suitcases and laid them onto the floor. "Take your pick."
Both Julie and Emily got up and walked over to them. Emily didn't seem to know why.
It was then that she looked down at her own shirt to see what was wrong. The little girl's eyes opened wider at the sight of the blood caked on her. She stared at her hands, turning them around to get a better look.
"What is this?" she asked.
Scooter was at a loss for words.How could you tell a kid that it was blood? Her father's blood.
"It's dirt," Julie said. She leaned down and grabbed the girl's face. "It's just dirt. We need to get some clean clothes."
Emily didn't seem to believe her. It didn't look like dirt. It looked like…
"Where's my dad?" the little girl asked.
Scooter didn't know what to say. This was the question that he had been dreading. He didn't want to have to talk to her about this. He didn't want to be the bearer of bad news. He just wanted her to pick a shirt and follow him out of the hangar. He wanted to keep her safe, not talk to her about death. Not tell her that her father had turned into one of thosethings. He couldn't do that. Hewouldn't.
"He's dead," Julie said. Last night, Scooter had told her a little of what had happened, how he had found her. She wrapped her arms around the little girl.
Scooter's jaw dropped. He couldn't understand why she would have said such a thing. Why tell a little girl that her father is dead? How was that going to help? He wanted to reach out and shake Julie. Maybe even slap her.
He wouldn't.No, no. But hewanted to. And that was enough.
Emily looked up at Julie. She had to crane her neck because Julie was holding her so tight. "He's dead?"
This time, Julie didn't look so confident. It was as though she was second guessing her decision to be so honest.
Scooter wanted to saytold you so. But he hadn't told her anything. He had just thought it. And that wasn't the same thing.
Julie looked into Emily's eyes. "Yes," she said. "He's dead."
The little girl continued to stare at Julie. She seemed to be processing the information, though Scooter didn't know how.How could a little girl understand that her father was dead?
"He wasn't sleeping?"
"No, he wasn't."
Emily continued to think about it. Scooter could see tears building in the young girl's eyes. He could also see that she was trying to fight them. As though she wasn't going to cry until she had fully understood what Julie was telling her.
"How?" Emily asked. Just one word. It was a good question. One Scooter didn't know the answer to. Neither did Julie. No one did. Maybe no one ever would.
"I don't know," Julie said. "It just happened."
"In the elbator?"
"Yes, in the elevator."
Emily thought about it some more, things whirling around in her head. "Like the old woman?"
It took Julie a second to answer before it clicked. "Yeah," she said. Julie broke eye contact with the little girl and looked out the hangar door. She couldn't see the old woman out there. Not from where she was. But she knew that she was there. She had seen the old woman's face split in half by an axe. "Like the old woman."
"Why? What happened?"
"I really don't know. None of us do." Julie looked at Scooter for support.
He was still a bit angry at her for saying anything about it in the first place, but now that she had started he might as well help see it through. He shook his head. "No, we don't know."
"My father's dead? Really?"
Julie grabbed Emily tighter. "Yes, really."
Emily started to cry. Scooter thought that she was going to start shouting that it wasn't true, that she didn't believe them. But she didn't. She just cried.
Julie and Scooter didn't stop her. Why would they? The little girl was coming to grips with the death of her father. It was a horrible thing for her to have to do. It was a horrible thing foranyone to have to do.
They waited for her to stop crying.
When Emily finally raised her head, Julie could feel that her shirt was wet from the little girl's tears. Scooter looked at her. He wasn't sure what was going to happen next. He thought that maybe she'd ask more questions about her father - questions that Scooter didn't have the answers to.
Emily looked at Scooter. He felt his heart sink. He was nervous. He really didn't want to get into this. It was too hard.
She opened her mouth to speak. Scooter wanted to stop her. But he wouldn't. He braced himself for the question.
To his surprise, the question never came.
"I want that pink shirt," Emily said. She pointed at the top shirt in the suitcase.
He reached over and picked it up. He handed it to her. She took it from his hands without any trouble. She wasn't even crying anymore. Though she still looked sad.
"I'll wait outside until you two have changed, okay?" Scooter said.
Emily didn't respond. She just took the shirt and held it in her lap.
Julie nodded and stood up to help Emily. She took the little girl's hand and lifted her to her feet.
He grabbed a shirt for himself and walked away.
*
It wasn't long before Scooter heard footsteps coming up behind him.
"We're done," Julie said.
He turned around and saw them standing in the doorway.
The T-shirt fit the little girl perfectly. And, aside from the blood smeared all across her face and in her hair, she looked good.
Julie looked good too. Her T-shirt was a little bit too tight, but that made it look all that much better. Scooter tried not to think about that, though.Not now. He bit his lip and looked away.
"Did you decide where we should go?" Julie asked.
Scooter felt nervous.The T-shirt. Thetight T-shirt.
"I don't know," he said, avoiding eye contact with her. "I'm not sure. I was thinking that we should go back to the airport."
"Back to the airport? Are you sure that's a good idea?"
He turned to face her. He couldn't have a conversation without looking at her. It didn't matter how nervous he felt. He needed to be strong, not think about it. He kept his focus on her face. He could feel his own redden. But it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.
"I was thinking two things," he explained. As he spoke he thought that maybe his ideas weren't all that good after all.Stupideven. He continued anyway. "The first is that we could get some food and water. There's a little coffee shop right near the entrance. It's bright. We'd see if any of thosethings were around. We can't leave without getting f
ood and water."
"And the second thing?"
"We could wash up. There must be a few washrooms up there." He looked down at the young girl. "We can't walk around like this."
Julie nodded her head.
Maybe his ideas weren't all that bad, he decided.A bit risky. But not bad.
"Okay," Julie said. "We can do that. But we'll have to be careful."
"Of course," Scooter said. He wasn't going to be reckless. Not anymore. And that reminded him…
He rushed past Julie and Emily and headed into the hangar to grab his axe. When he came back, he bent down beside Emily. He looked her in the eyes.
"Now," he said. "I want you to listen to me. I'm going to pick you up and take you to the cart, okay? I want you to keep your eyes closed and don't look around."
Emily nodded her head. She didn't even askwhy.
"Good," Scooter said. He picked the little girl up. It wasn't easy with the axe in his hand, but he wanted to make sure that she didn't see the woman he had killed.Hedidn't even want to. But there wasn't much he could do about that. He pressed the wooden handle against her back and his other hand against her head. "Don't look, all right? Just keep your face against my neck."
The little girl did as she was told.
"Let's go."
They made their way to the little electric cart, passing the dead woman as they went. Scooter placed Emily in Julie's lap once she was settled in the passenger seat. Then he got behind the steering wheel.
"Good job," he said. "We're almost out of here."
Scooter pressed the button on the cart and waited for the engine to turn on. Nothing happened.
"What's wrong?" Julie asked.
"Just give me a second."
He tried again.
Nothing.
It was then that he realized that the cart was out of power. "I must've left it on last night," he said. "Shit." He caught himself as he swore and looked at the little girl.He had to stop doing that. "We'll have to walk."
Julie and Emily got out of the cart. Scooter walked over and picked the little girl up. He wasn't going to make her walk back to the airport. It was too far. She was too young. He kept hold of the axe.
"Come on."
He started to walk. Julie kept beside him.
Glory (Book 2) Page 13